I didn’t pass out this time. It would be unbelievable if I passed out after each and every fight. No, this time, I just felt like I was in a delirious haze. I tried to deal with the pain while I waited to be dug out. After rocking a bit from the vines around me being chopped, I heard the distinctive “Heal” come from behind me. A few hands dragged me out.

They set me down, but I couldn’t support myself. I think I had broken ribs. One person helping me was a thick and hairy older man. Balding up top and grumbling.

“Crazy bastards. Some kind of Kamikaze squad. And these beasts. What the hell should we do with something like this. Fucking dungeon.”

The other person helping me just looked on, bloody and silent. The mage was there too with his hands poised over my injured shoulder.

“Heal.”

I tried to sit up again, but a sharp pain in my ribs sat me back down again. I wasn’t thinking clearly. It was like I was thinking through water. I lay back down and spaced out for a bit. Eventually, I felt lucid enough to realize the conversation going on next to me.

“Should we really stay here? What if the blood attracts more?”

It was the grumbling man, grumbling to the mage.

“He’s useful.”

The mage spoke concisely and left no room for negotiation, but the big man just kept talking. I took a closer look at him and let his features come into detail. He was a burly man, maybe a butcher before the dungeon. His hands were massive and his whole body was thick. He still had streaks of hair running along the lower side of his head and he looked to be in his 30’s. Much older than the rest of us.

“But the blood. It reeks.”

It almost sounded like the burly man was talking to himself. Making an observation instead of conversation.

“You know how to kill these things?”

Obviously the mage did, but I suppose he was fishing for information. The mage did have that air of competence and knowledge about him. There was a pause after the question where both were silent. I thought maybe they’d finish talking, but the mage eventually made another comment without inflection or emotion.

“Someone taught me that.”

I found it odd that he said something so impractical. He usually had some sort of command or insight to share with us. I know the burly man asked him, but still, It seemed human of him to reply that way. I looked to the side and saw Koda talking with a group of 3 others. They had fish eyes and looked at him mutely, while he was calmly speaking to all of them at once.

“We’ll stay here until he’s recovered. Our group is small.”

I opened my mouth and croaked. They both turned to me.

“Th..Thank you..”

The mage gave a small smile. More amusement than warmth.